233/366 Migration, migration, migration

20 Thursday Aug 2020

Posted by sconzani in autumn, birds, nature

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autumn migration, bird migration, birding, British birds, Pied flycatcher, Redstart, Sedge warbler, Whitethroat, Willow warbler

While yesterday’s Clouded yellow butterfly was migrating northwards on the hot southerlies, our local birds were heading in the opposite direction, to their various wintering spots around the Mediterranean and in locations all over the African continent. They started heading south in ever-increasing numbers about three weeks ago – at least, that’s when I started noticing this year’s autumn migration. Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs, Swallows, Sand and House martins … for a lot of these little birds their long journey has already begun.

200820 pied flycatcher

The first noteworthy bird for me was a Pied flycatcher, found by a local birder at Cosmeston one day, and I just happened to be right there he re-found it the following day. That was 22 July, the day I also began to notice how many Willow warblers there were everywhere – I’ve been seeing good numbers of these lovely little birds almost daily since then.

200820 willow warbler

On 2 August, this Sedge warbler was a surprise find in the hedgerow on a local farm. With any luck, it will be well on its way to sub-Saharan Africa by now.

200820 sedge warbler

Also on 2 August, in that same hedgerow, I noticed a lot of Whitethroats, and they’re also passing through in small numbers every day now.

I’ve seen a Redstart at Cosmeston a few times – these photos were taken on 4 August and 16 August in almost the exact same location. Might it be the same bird that has perhaps found the place to its liking and is trying to fatten up before flying onward?

In recent days, I’ve also been seeing some of my favourite migrants, Spotted flycatchers (several now seen) and Whinchat (just one so far) but I’m going to post separate blogs about those superb little birds.

69/366 First Chiffchaffs

09 Monday Mar 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, spring

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bird migration, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Chiffchaff, spring migration

Spring migration is underway! Our county bird recorder yesterday reported seeing his first Sand martin for 2020 and today I’ve seen my first Chiffchaffs, newly arrived from overwintering in the warm countries around the Mediterranean or perhaps somewhere in west Africa. Such long migratory flights by such little birds – incredible!

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I saw or heard five Chiffchaffs during my walk along the coastal path this morning and then another three at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park. Above is number three and below is number seven. Hearing them singing their ‘chiff chaff’ song made my heart spring!

200309 chiffchaff (2)

260/365 Stonechats

17 Tuesday Sep 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, autumn, birds, nature

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#365DaysWild, autumn migration, bird migration, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Stonechat

The Autumn migration flow of birds continued through Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, with several species reported: a Redstart, a Whinchat, a Spotted flycatcher and several Stonechats, two of which very kindly popped up in the hedge right in front of me.

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A well-travelled Black-headed gull

08 Friday Feb 2019

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

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bird migration, birding, birdwatching, Black-headed gull, British birds, colour-ringed birds, colour-ringed Black-headed gull, tracking bird movements

When I was in Barry earlier this week, I noticed one of the Black-headed gulls at The Knap was colour-ringed so I took its photo and reported my sighting by checking who was ringing what where on the European Colour-ring birding website.

Today I heard back from Paul Roper of the North Thames Gull Group (NTGG) and the information he supplied is fascinating. This bird was ringed as an adult (‘third calendar year or older’) at the Pitsea Landfill Site in Essex on 12 March 2016 but it doesn’t seem to spend much time in England. As Paul commented in his email, ‘This one is particularly interesting as it appears to breed in Finland and goes there via Germany’.

190208 Black-headed gull

Another thing that intrigued me was how site faithful this bird is in its choice of where to over-winter and Paul confirmed that, from their records, many birds ‘do seem to stick to a site faithfully in the winter’. From sightings dated 11 November 2016, 15 August 2017, 5 February 2018 and my sighting on 4 February 2019, we can see that, once it’s finished breeding in Finland, this little Black-headed gull heads back to Britain to spend its winters in Barry, in south Wales. You can see a map of its movements on the NTGG website here. There must be something about the fish and chips in Barrybados that keeps bringing it back!

Scurrying Sanderlings

22 Saturday Sep 2018

Posted by sconzani in autumn, birds, nature

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autumn migration, bird migration, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Calidris alba, migrating birds, Sanderling, Sker Rocks

Watching these busy little birds scurrying back and forth along the beach at Sker last Saturday was the highlight of my day.

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I had walked away a little from the group of birders I was with as I wanted to try to get better photographs of the waders moving along the water’s edge, and I’m so glad I did, as the birds weren’t as bothered about one person standing very still and silent as they would’ve been about 25 chattering people moving about, and so came up reasonably close to me.

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Small flocks of Sanderlings (Calidris alba), and other small waders, were flying back and forth from the rocks to the sandy beach to feed, poking their heads right up to their eyes in the soft sand to probe for their preferred food of small crustaceans and molluscs.

180922 sanderlings (3) 180922 sanderlings (3a)

According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, the name Sanderling is a combination of the fairly obvious ‘sand’ and ‘erling’, which probably comes from the Old English yrthling, meaning ploughman (from yrth earth and erian to plough). That certainly makes sense when you see these little birds in action.

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Sanderlings are passage migrants that move through Britain in spring and autumn on their way to and from their breeding grounds in the High Arctic and their over-wintering sites in southern Europe and Africa.

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The birds’ plumage changes for the breeding season, becoming much darker, with shades of reddish-brown on the head, neck and back, and you can still see hints of that on some of the birds in my photos. Also, many of my birds seem to be juveniles, with quite chequered markings on their backs and very clean white under-parts.

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One fascinating factoid I discovered when reading up about these birds is that they have only three toes on each foot, with no hind toe to provide balance, and this is the reason for their scurrying motion. If you want to see Sanderlings in action, I uploaded a very short video to youtube.

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A Whinchat family

08 Saturday Sep 2018

Posted by sconzani in autumn, birds, nature

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autumn migration, bird migration, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, migrating birds, Saxicola rubetra, Whinchat

180908 2 whinchats (1)

One of the highlights of this week at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park has been watching the party of three Whinchats that have stopped off to feed up prior to their migration to central and southern Africa. I think they’re a family group because this one appears still to have the plumage of a juvenile.

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Another (below) is still part way through the moulting process. I read recently that birds don’t usually migrate until after their moult is complete, as the lack of all their proper flight feathers, in particular, can affect their ability to fly long distances. Perhaps that’s another reason why they’ve broken their journey at Cosmeston.

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This is the third Whinchat, or Saxicola rubetra, to give it its scientific name.

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Their common name, as with many birds, reflects their behaviour – whin is another word for gorse, as these little birds are commonly found amongst gorse and bracken and areas of low shrubs and bushes. Chat relates to their call, which combines the sound of two stones being tapped together with a series of melodic whistles.

180908 2 whinchats (2).jpg

Seeing spots before my eyes

27 Monday Aug 2018

Posted by sconzani in autumn, birds, nature, seasons

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autumn migration, bird migration, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Muscicapa striata, Spotted flycatcher

The autumn bird migration is now in full swing in south Wales and almost every day migrating birds are being spotted at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, where they’re stopping off to refuel before they tackle their long flights to warmer over-wintering locations in Europe and Africa. One that I find particularly charming is the Spotted flycatcher (Muscicapa striata), which is not really spotted at all, more streaky and stripy. The scientific name is more accurate: Muscicapa is a combination of the Latin word musca, meaning fly, and capere, meaning to catch, and the epithet striata is from the Latin striatus, meaning striated.

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I saw my first Spotted flycatcher at Cossie on 7 August.

A week later, on the 15th, I had two sightings.

The 20th was a bumper day, with three birds, two obviously travelling together, and another doing its own thing.

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And last Friday, the 24th, a birding friend put me on to a single bird, that was catching flies in the paddock I walked through on my way home. Fingers crossed I manage to see a few more before they all disappear for the winter.

The autumn migration is underway

11 Saturday Aug 2018

Posted by sconzani in autumn, birds, nature

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Arctic tern, autumn migration, bird migration, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay, Ely embankment, Little gull, Spotted flycatcher, Turnstone, Willow warbler

It’s that time of year, tinged ever so slightly with sadness but enlivened with occasional moments of great excitement, when bird populations begin their autumn migration. My local Swifts have headed south for the winter and I shall miss their dawn and dusk screaming, the sound of summer for me, and there have been good numbers of Swallows and House martins swirling above Cardiff Bay, in a final feeding frenzy before they too head south.

I’ve spotted small flocks of Willow warblers and Chiffchaffs, moving through my local nature reserves and parks, stocking up on nutrients before they also begin their long flights. And, this week, a Spotted flycatcher became my 186th bird species for 2018, when I saw it passing through Cosmeston.

180811 3 Spotted flycatcher

As well as those birds that are departing for sunnier wintering spots, there are also birds returning from their colder breeding locations to spend the winter in Britain’s relatively warm climes. I saw my first two returning Turnstones, still in their summer plumage, during a wander along the Ely embankment on Wednesday.

180811 4 turnstone

Also at Cardiff Bay this week have been a couple of those birds that provide birders, local and distant alike, with a quickening of the heart rate. First, a first summer Arctic tern arrived to join the Cardiff Bay bird population, and then a juvenile Little gull also joined the party, though neither bird has been welcomed by the local gulls.

180811 5 arctic tern

I saw both birds being chased and mobbed on Wednesday, and a little later that same day my friend John caught some amazing shots of a Black-headed gull almost drowning the Little gull – luckily, it escaped. (Bird xenophobia? No one seems to know why the local gulls are being so aggressive.)

Above, Arctic tern being chased; below, Little gull also being pursued

180811 9 little gull being chased

Let’s hope further newcomers are given a warmer welcome to our local waters and, indeed, let’s just hope for further newcomers – there’s nothing quite like an exciting sighting to quicken a birder’s pulse!

Spring migration: Wheatear

26 Monday Mar 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, spring

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bird migration, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Oenanthe oenanthe, spring migration, Wheatear

I’ve walked miles – seriously, miles and miles and miles! – in the past ten days, trying to spot my first Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe) of 2018. I was following up reported local sightings by my fellow birders – ‘Wheatear at Swanbridge/Sully Island this morning’, ‘Wheatear for 2nd day at Hayes Rd car park’, ‘Wheatear on Cardiff Bay barrage’ (two people saw that one on the same day – but did it show for me? Did it heck as like!), ‘Wheatear on the Barrage’ (4 days later), ‘Male wheatear Penarth Marina’ (my local patch and I couldn’t find that one despite three walks around about).

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Then finally, on the 23rd, I got a fleeting glimpse of one (and a couple of fuzzy photos) just off Sully beach. And, just like the proverbial buses that don’t turn up at all and then all turn up together, I spotted another one on Cardiff Bay Barrage the very next day. That one’s the very handsome male in these photos.

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Wheatears are just returning from having spent their winter in the tropical parts of Africa. The males arrive first, usually in March, followed not long afterwards by the females. We see them arriving along the south Wales coast for a few weeks, then they move inland to their breeding sites. Now, to keep an eye out for a female!

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Autumn migration: Chiffchaff

20 Wednesday Sep 2017

Posted by sconzani in autumn, birds, nature

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autumn migration, bird migration, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Chiffchaff, Phylloscopus collybita

Although this little warbler can be seen all year round, most of its kind migrate in August and September, which is why, during the past couple of weeks, I’ve been seeing an awful lot of these pretty birds in my local parks and nature reserves. They’ve been fattening up on flies and other insects before they head south to the Mediterranean and west Africa.

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This is the Chiffchaff, Phylloscopus collybita. As it has a tendency to nest low down amongst brambles and evergreen shrubs, it has earned itself such vernacular names as bank-bottle and bank jug, but I have no idea where most of its other common names originate from: feather bed, feather pokel, huck muck, lesser pettychaps, Peggy, sally picker, thummie, and wood oven.

One thing I have learnt about the Chiffchaff, however, is to try to get a good look at the colour of its legs because if it’s not singing its distinctive ‘chiff chaff’ song, then its dark-coloured legs are one way to tell it apart from its look-alike, the Willow warbler.